Summary

Arthur Dent is put in the hospital after a mysterious experiment, while Whit decides to co-operate with the FBI in trying to find out what Andromeda is up to.

Plot

Connie is having a solo Candid Conversations With Connie. She explains that Mitch’s memorial service is tomorrow morning at 10:00. She then reads a poem she wrote about Mitch. Whit and Jack come back into Whit’s End and they’re acting a bit unusual. Jack and Joanne start talking about antiques.

Monica Stone comes back into Mr. Charles’s office. He’s listening to Jack and Joanne and asks for the package. He opens it and finds...a stamp collection. They realize that Whit must have made the switch at the post office. Suddenly something strange happens on the listening device. Whit says “thanks for listening” and disables the bug. He and Jack and Joanne do the same for all the bugs at Whit’s End. Monica asks if she should tell “The Chairman,” but instead heads off to find Eugene. She says she’ll know where to find him.

Back at Whit’s End, Wooton arrives to hand off the package that he and Whit switched at the post office. He also reveals that Eugene sent a package the night before last from the post office. Whit and Connie go up to the computer to see what’s on the disk. Unfortunately, the disk is encoded. Then Whit notices a plain text file. He opens it and sees that it’s the minutes from an Andromeda Board Meeting. It gives approval to Operation Think Tank and notes that Armitage Shanks and Bennett Charles are present. Just then he gets an e-mail from Eugene. The e-mail says that he and Katrina are safe and that Whit shouldn’t try to find them because he may lead “the Unwanted” to him. Connie can’t believe they have to sit here and do nothing. Whit says it’s all in God’s control.

Later Connie sits in McAlister Park when Wooton walks up. She tells him about how she never told Mitch that she loved him, not even as a friend. The same for Eugene…he’s one of her best friends and now he’s missing. Wooton decides to take Connie to the state fair. He lets her talk about her grief while eating funnel cake, playing laser tag, and going on a ride which spins "at such incredibly high speed that when the floor drops out from under you you stick to the wall by centrifugal force". When it’s over, Connie thanks Wooton for his help.

Meanwhile, Tom stops by for a visit at Whit’s End and finds that Whit has stepped up security. He wonders what’s going on. Whit says he’s trying to figure it out and finds a piece of paper in Arthur Dent’s package. It looks like a Chicago address. Just then Bourland comes in. He sees Tom and makes a comment about the Novacom tower being on Tom’s property. Then he asks Whit why he didn’t tell him about the post office. Whit says he wasn’t protected when Monica threatened them. He then reluctantly hands over the disk when Bourland asks. Bourland leaves and Whit tells Tom he’s headed to Chicago to check out the address from the package.

That evening in Chicago, Whit finds Dent lying on the couch in his apartment. He takes him to the hospital where the doctor says Dent suffered a stroke caused by a brain tumor. He’s also suffering from paranoia. When Dent sees Whit, he becomes very animated and tells Whit that he has to get him out of the hospital. He says the same people who killed Armitage Shanks will get to him.

The next morning at Whit’s End, Whit finds Connie about to head to the memorial service. Bourland comes in the shop and asks why Whit was in Chicago. He tells Whit he’s ready to start exchanging information. He tells Whit that what Andromeda is doing is being held back by two things — Eugene’s information and Mr. Whittaker himself.

The memorial service is just what was needed for those who knew Mitch. As it ends, Connie spots Mr. Charles and accuses him of murdering Mitch. Mr. Charles says Mitch was a friend and he’s going to try to find the killers. Connie eventually calms down. Tom says he’s waiting for a long talk and Whit says it's coming. Jack and Joanne say their goodbyes and Whit and Connie are alone at the church. They sit in the back pew and talk about how Mitch impacted lives. Connie again regrets never telling him how she felt. Whit says that we should trust God to fill in the blanks, but Connie says that we shouldn’t expect him to. “I love you, Whit,” she says. He responds, “Oh Connie... I love you, too.”

This was Adventures in Odyssey's first four part episode. The second and only other four part episode, Sergeant York, can be found in Album 55: The Deep End.

Quotes

Connie Kendall: The dishrag sits on the counter, catching no one's eye. The polished bronze a reflection, clear as the cloudless sky. The dishrag is tossed, the laundry is its fate...Bennett Charles: What's happening?!John Whittaker: Hello, everyone. Thanks for listening. But it's time for our broadcasting day to end. This is the bug at the soda fountain signing off. Oh, by the way, you may want to listen to the bug in the library.Bennett Charles: I didn't realize Whittaker was such a comedian.Wooton Bassett: A two hour conversation about socks can say "I love you" just as much as...well, saying "I love you".Connie Kendall: EAT LASERS, PIG!Connie Kendall: Maybe I should give up on relationships...enter a convent.Connie Kendall: You really...you really took a lot of time out of your day to hang out with me. Thanks, Wooton.Wooton Bassett: Oh...oh, don't thank me. Thank all the people on my route that are gonna get their mail at ten o'clock tonight.Peter Bourland: Think about it Mr. Whittaker. Why do you think there's been so much activity around you? Modems, bugs, cameras in your office...John Whittaker: I don't know anything about it. Why are they after me?Peter Bourland: That's what I'm trying to find out.Tom Riley: I can't wait for our long talk, Whit.John Whittaker: It's coming, Tom.Arthur Dent: They'll find me and kill me.John Whittaker: Who?Arthur Dent: The same people who killed Armitage Shanks! I have to go! They'll find out I'm here! Please Whit!Arthur Dent: But you don't understand what's happening! No one does! If I stay here I'll be dead before morning! Help me, Whit! You have to help me now!John Whittaker: Sometimes...we have to hope that God fills in the blanks for all the things we should have said.Connie Kendall: Yeah...but we shouldn't expect Him to. I love you, Whit.John Whittaker: Oh, Connie...I love you, too.